One's a Wizard, Two's a Ninja
by cottoncandyinyourface
Summary: Team 7 is sent on a ridiculous mission to protect Harry Potter in a world where fistfights were out,and wand waving was in.When Naruto is deemed unstable there,Sasuke and Sakura are left to fend for themselves,and the rest of the magical world. .SasuSaku.
1. The Mission:Harry What?

**Author's Note:** Yo. Okay. Here's the first re-written chapter of _'The Magical Chronicles: Power of Shinobi'_ . More like I completely changed the plot, from the next chapter onwards. Apparently I didn't like where the story was going, so I decided to change some stuff. Including the title, 'cause I felt like it.

And also, I just decided to post the edited one as a completely new story, so, here it is. It was kinda heartbreaking to start a new story, 'cause the reviews were going so well in the other story. -.- But hell, I hope that this editted one is just as good.

Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 1

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_The Mission : Harry Potter_

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Team 7 had always been a dynamic group, always in complete synchronization and believed to be the personification of power, precision and teamwork in the battlefield. Out of it, however, was a completely different story.

When Hatake Kakashi had poofed in front of his only female student while she was fumbling around for her house keys and balancing three grocery bags at the same time to tell her that Team 7 had an important mission and were to report in the Hokage's office in 15 minutes, Sakura had ditched her groceries with Kakashi and tossed her keys to him carelessly before dutifully running off to find her team mates, sticking out her tongue and saluting apologetically at her disgruntled ex-teacher over her shoulder as she did so.

And also, when Haruno Sakura leapt down from Uchiha Sasuke's roof and landed on the window ledge of his bedroom, she placed a hand on her knee and tapped the glass lightly, to which the prodigy opened and greeted her with slightly wet hair and a towel upon it, and Sakura grinning widely as she told the raven-haired male that they had a mission. No sooner than that was said, Sasuke tossed his damp towel onto his bed, grabbed a tomato, and sped off together with Sakura, jumping from roof to roof to find their remaining blonde team mate. Sasuke was desperately running a hand through his hair hoping that the natural wind would dry it quickly and that it wouldn't look like something just died and combusted simultaneously on his handsome head.

All that led to the current event, in which Sakura's banging on Uzumaki Naruto's door with Sasuke standing slightly behind her, a hand stuffed casually in his pocket while he munches on his tomato, looking content.

"Come ON Naruto! OPEN UP!!" Sakura hollered, banging her fists onto the door continuously, which successfully created many pretty dents on it. Sasuke looked indifferent as he finally finished his tomato and stuffed his now-free hand into his other pocket.

There was some noisy shuffling and thudding on the other side of the door before it was practically torn off its hinges by a fuming Naruto. He was holding a cup of instant ramen in one hand while the other held a carton of milk. Expired milk.

Sasuke decided to be an ass and not point it out.

"What the he - Hey-y-y Sakura-chaaan!" Naruto immediately did a double-take when he noticed that it was his pink-haired crush, his scowl sliding off his face and was replaced by a sheepish expression. Sakura scowled and Sasuke looked bemused.

"Took you long enough. Get dressed. We have a mission."

Which, of course, led to Naruto rushing about his house trying to find his signature bright orange jacket, trying to stuff his feet into his ninja sandals in two seconds, and subsequently doing a face-plant on the ground after tripping on nothing.

So much for being a ninja.

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"Alright Team Seven, it's been a long time since you've been assigned to any missions together, so I've decided to let you handle the latest request by an old friend of mine," Tsunade began after the usual banter between her and Naruto. She scrutinized the three members of Team seven over the top of her clasped hands. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke sure had grown, physically and mentally, over the five years since they've become a team. Sakura was now the shortest of the three instead of Naruto, who was actually as tall as Sasuke.

All of them were now 14, and Chuunins, having passed the test with flying colours. Literally. Naruto and Sakura had flat-out refused to take the Chuunin exams without Sasuke, and when he finally returned willingly about a year ago, after killing Orochimaru but with Itachi still on the run, they took it as a team after Sasuke was free from probation.

"Albus Dumbledore, a friend of mine, is the headmaster of a school for witchcraft and wizardry. There's this boy called Harry- something. Anyway, this kid needs protecting from some evil guy called Voldemort, who's after his head 'cause he's the only one known to have survived the killing curse, from Voldemort himself, no less, and at such a young age, to boot."

There was a long, dazed silence after that.

"Uh, yeah. Real funny baa-chan. So what's the real mission?" Naruto said, flapping his hand slightly and then suddenly becoming eager, looking around excitedly as though that would reveal their mission. The Fifth Hokage growled slightly under her breath.

"That _was_ your mission, you brat," the busty blonde said, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her hazel eyes, signaling that a headache was about to rear its swirly head.

"No, seriously? Like, a _school_? Of freaking _witchcraft_ and _wizardry_?" Naruto continued incredulously, completely oblivious to the dangerous aura which now surrounded Tsunade.

"Why're you talking like that?" Sakura asked him with a weird expression on her face. Sasuke sighed.

"This mission is of a A-rank, and it'll roughly take a year, give or take a month or two," Tsunade said, ignoring the other loud blonde. Sakura's jaw dropped in surprise while Sasuke raised an eyebrow; his version of faint surprise. Naruto, on the other hand...

"WHAT?! Have you gone MENTAL?! Are you SENILE, baa-chan?! School for a stinkin' _year_?!"

Sure, Naruto loved missions, but even he had limitations.

"SHUT UP!" the blonde woman shouted just as Sasuke punched him, calmly, square in the jaw with his eyes closed in mild irritation, and Sakura whacked the back of his blond head.

"Thank you, Sakura, Uchiha," Tsunade heaved a sigh, sounding exhausted. She'd done a lot of serious thinking about this mission, having to pick the most appropriate team to do the job.

"B-but, why us, Shishou? I mean, it sounds like a tough mission that Chuunins like us won't be able to handle. Not for an entire year, anyway," Sakura asked, mumbling the last bit.

"He requested for five of my best ninjas I could spare at the moment. The village needs more ninjas at this point of time, with the Grass allying with the Sound and Cloud to have a war against us and Sand. Although we do have allies like the Mist and Wave, I'm afraid it might not be enough. The rest of Rookie 9 are needed here, and frankly speaking, I can't put my trust in Team Gai for an entire year. I mean, Hyuuga and that weapon girl I can trust, but not Gai and that other kid with bushy eyebrows. So, I decided that I could spare a three-man team, strong in teamwork, strength, secrecy, speed and intelligence. And you guys make the cut."

Naruto's, Sakura's and Sasuke's eyes gleamed with pride.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama."

"What's the main objective of the mission, Hokage-sama?" Sasuke asked in his usual monotone, getting right down to business.

"All of you are to protect the school and its students. But more importantly, Harry - something - _okay seriously what the heck is his name?!_ Anyway, when Voldemort strikes, you are to… _assist_ Harry in eliminating Voldemort."

"Why can't we just kill that Voldy guy ourselves?" Naruto inquired.

"If that was the case, I wouldn't have told you to protect Harry, now would I? I would have just told you to kill off a dangerous man named Voldemort. No, you can't kill him off, because that's _Harry's_ goal. He wants to _avenge his parents_," Tsunade explained, her hazel eyes darting towards the dark and silent male next to Sakura. Sasuke clenched his jaw and fists, head lowering slightly, allowing his bangs to cover his gorgeous onyx eyes. Sakura gently brushed her fingers against his wrist in a comforting gesture without looking up at him. Sasuke almost instantly relaxed.

"You three will be posing as students in the school. Gather as much information as possible about Voldemort and his allies. It'll be very much needed in order to defeat him. And also, the closer you get to Harry, the better and easier it is for you to protect him."

Team seven nodded.

"Oh, and there is a competition called the Triwizard Tournament this year," Tsunade added. She chuckled at the confused looks of her favourite team before launching into a long explanation.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of witchcraft and wizardry – Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took in turns to host the Tournament every five years. And this year, it's hosted at Hogwarts. People will be coming in and it's easy to let something slip. So I just want to advise you three to be a little more cautious. Dumbledore's paying a lot for this mission. All your clothes and necessities will be paid by the village."

The trio nodded, Naruto practically vibrating from excitement. Sakura realized something and voiced it out.

"European? Ano, we can't speak English…" she trailed off, looking at her feet. Naruto paused and Sasuke pondered on it for a moment before nodding also.

Tsunade sighed. She stood up and walked around her desk to stand between her pink-haired student and the Uchiha, all the time forming a rapid succession of hand seals.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke looked at her in confusion.

Suddenly Tsunade halted and muttered something under her breath, before placing a hand on Sakura's and Sasuke's forehead, much to his dismay.

There was a few moments of awkward silence as nothing happened. Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, closing his eyes in annoyance, and Sakura was looking a little freaked out. Naruto was just staring in anticipation.

Then she dropped her hands and placed one on Naruto's forehead, who made a startled sound of protest.

"All done!" Tsunade exclaimed, beaming at the members of Team 7, who looked at her blankly.

"Nothing happened," Sasuke said, quirking a dark eyebrow and pointing out the obvious. The Godaime smirked. Naruto's and Sakura's heads swiveled to look at their team mate in shock.

"What?" Sasuke asked, looking at his team mates with his eyebrows furrowed. Then he realised he was talking in freaking English.

"You're talking in Eng - No no! _We're_ talking in English!!" Naruto exclaimed gleefully, and started rambling about something related to ramen, Sakura-chan and cheese before Sakura bopped him on the head.

"Okay, now that that's all settled, I'll give you fifteen minutes to pack up some training clothes and necessities. I don't think they sell ninja training clothes in the wizarding world, now do they? After that, meet me back here with all your things. Understood?" Tsunade said, her tone firm.

The three teens stood at attention and saluted her.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama!!"

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"All of you back?" Tsunade did a quick head count which told her that all of them were indeed there. She took out something from her drawer; a Konoha headband.

"Hold on to this," she ordered. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke obliged despite being confused.

"Okay then. Kakashi will be waiting for you guys at the other end. He'll explain about the Quidditch World Cup. We won't be seeing each other for a long time, maybe a few times on important meetings. So, for now, I would like to say good bye and _stay safe_." Tsunade smiled solemnly. Before they could reply, they felt a tug at their navels and were gone from the ridiculously busty blonde's sight.

"I don't want to lose three of my potentially best ninjas…" she muttered as she stared at the spot where the Konoha trio just disappeared from, and frowned.

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_"Will they... come back?"_

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**Author's Note:** How was it? Better? Worse?


	2. Team 7's Arrival: Kakashi's Early?

**Author's Note**: Yo, people. Exams are finally over and I'm gonna try to update as much as possible. So here it is.

Not much changes here, though.

Enjoy.

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Chapter 2

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_Team 7's Arrival: Kakashi's Early?_

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It was _so_ uncalled for.

"Wha-at the blo-o-o-ody he-e-ell is happening-ing-ing-ing?!" Naruto yelled, his shoulders banging onto Sasuke's and Sakura's repeatedly, causing his words to repeat over and over again. The Kyuubi vessel felt like they'd been tossed into a God's mega-sized washing machine.

The ninja trio had been unceremoniously pulled from one destination to another, sailing through the air in a thin line between existence and non-existence. The air was sucked out of their lungs as they spun rapidly.

"Why won't the spinning stop?!" Sakura screamed, already feeling slightly delirious from the lack of air. Her long, pink tresses were blown completely sideways from the way she angled her body against the direction they're revolving in.

"We need to stop this thing!" Sasuke bellowed over the roar of wind and noise, his dark bangs whipping mercilessly against his forehead.

"How?! Do we let go?!" Sakura shouted, already bracing herself. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura exchanged determined looks, not caring that their hair might suddenly whip them in the eye or something.

"Alright! On count of three! One - !!" Sasuke began, before being interrupted by none other than the blonde Uzumaki himself.

"Wait wait wait! Do we let go on three, or on go?!" Sasuke and Sakura stared at him before sighing in unison.

"On three, moron. I never said anything about go."

"But you just did - "

"OKAY I think this isn't exactly the most appropriate time to argue so... Three!" Sakura said, disrupting their argument, and suddenly let go. She was closely followed by Sasuke, and then by a flailing Naruto.

"I can't see the ground!!" the kunoichi called over to her best friends as the three of them dove head-first onto what they assumed to be safe land. Sasuke nodded to her before his onyx orbs flickered to crimson and three tomoes spun wildly around the iris.

Everything around him suddenly became clear and he could actually see the surroundings now. Which also included the ground.

"Land in two seconds!" Sasuke yelled over to his team, his eyes flickering back to obsidian just as he easily flipped over so that he landed on his feet instead of his skull.

Sakura barely made it in time to do a small flip so that she landed in a crouch. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't get the memo.

Apparently, the impact had been too strong, and even Sasuke was knocked to the ground after his feet made contact with it. Sakura had rolled and skidded to a halt next to him, nearly knocking into the dark prodigy.

Something bright and orange dropped from a tear in the sky and landed with a loud 'AUGH!!' behind Sasuke and Sakura, who had to duck to avoid getting hit by the bundle of orange.

Both Sakura and Sasuke winced when they heard their friend groan.

They were on a hill, with the sun facing them and setting. Hues of yellow, orange, red and purple coloured the sky. Below the hill there was what looked like a street. The shop houses were rickety and looked like it was just piled up on top of the ground without much thought. People in weird-looking clothes were streaming in and out of the shops, mostly in tightly formed groups.

Sakura stood up shakily as she tried to steady herself on her own feet, to make sure everything wasn't spinning around her. Naruto sat up, his eyes swirling. His female team mate walked over to him to heal any injuries he might have gotten from falling head-first onto the ground, which he didn't get.

"Isn't your skull cracked or something?" Sasuke asked the blonde, more out of curiosity than concern. "I mean, it's pretty empty, so it should crack easier, shouldn't it?"

"ASSHOLE!"

"Dumbass."

"JERK!"

"Buttface."

"BAST - !"

"SHUT UP!! If the two of you would stop being immature _imbeciles _and face this situation like the two grown up not-so-_men_ you are, my sanity would really appreciate it!!" Sakura rebuked, placing both hands on her hips as though giving a lecture. The two fourteen-year-olds turned away from each other with their arms folded and a pout gracing each of their features, one more than the other. Sakura wasn't finished.

"Would it seriously hurt to just work together for once? Like Shino-san and Kiba-san, or Neji-san and Lee-san, or - Kakashi-sensei!!" Sakura suddenly exclaimed.  
"Whaaat?! Kakashi-sensei?! He's a lazy old bastard!!" Naruto whined.

"He reads porn during and out of missions, he's never on time, and - " Sasuke stated in a monotone before Sakura grabbed his arm and pointed at someone else who was walking up the hill, and said excitedly -

"No! Look! Kakashi-sensei!!"

"And why're you so excited?" Sasuke asked her suspiciously, quirking a dark eyebrow as the three of them made their way to the silver-haired jounin.

"He's on time!" Sakura replied giddily, clapping her hands as she did so. Naruto apparently shared the same feelings as her, as he was clapping along with her while grinning silly.

And so Sasuke was left looking blankly at his beloved team mates.

_"Nah… We're probably just late."_

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"Yo!" Kakashi's eye was in an arch, so his ex-students could tell he was smiling. He was holding that smutty orange book in one hand while the other was raised up in a sign of greeting.

"You're early!" Sakura and Naruto said happily, clasping their hands in front of them and beaming at their ex-sensei, who laughed awkwardly as he scratched the back of his head.

"So what is this all about?" the raven-haired boy asked, getting right down to business. Jeez, that boy was _way_ too serious for his age.

Kakashi led them down the street, explaining the things about wizards. Sakura was looking around with curious, emerald orbs, amazed by her surroundings, while Naruto was saying many 'ooh's and 'ahh's every time his cerulean eyes saw something magical happen.

People who passed by them stared at them strangely. Sasuke dimly wondered why.

Was it their attire? Or was it the kunai handle sticking out of their weapon holster, ready to be grabbed and gauge someone's eye out with it? Or was it...

Nah.

"Oh yeah. And what the heck was up with that thing we took to come here?" Sakura asked, incensed.

"It's a Portkey. It teleports you to a specific destination quickly," the jounin drawled, idly flipping a page of his book. "By the way, you guys let go, didn't you? Next time, don't. It'll automatically repel you when you've reached your destination. I sensed your chakra and had to walk up the hill to find you guys."

"Baa-chan didn't tell us about that!! I seriously thought I was going to barf out the ramen I ate this morning!" Naruto whined, and Sakura blanched while Sasuke's eyebrow twitched slightly.

"Yeah well, I bet that that's not the only thing she didn't tell us about," Sasuke muttered, looking around him and his friends. "Where are we, anyway?" he asked, frowning at a gaggle of fan-witches who nearly hyperventilated at the sight of him.

"Diagon Alley," Kakashi replied nonchalantly. After a few silent minutes of walking through the magical street, he finally put away that discriminating orange book in his jounin vest and began talking.

"Okay kids – " Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke glared at Kakashi. "Okay, fine. _Team_," Sakura and Naruto beamed at him. "Quidditch is a game which wizards play on flying broomsticks. Like that one over there." Kakashi pointed at a display on one of the shops. There was a sleek-looking broom hanging as a display on the window. There was a sign on top of it saying 'Firebolt'.

The three ninjas turned back to face their sensei as he continued explaining.

"The game is played by two teams of seven people; three Chasers, two Beaters, a Keeper and a Seeker, and involves four balls; a Quaffle, two Bludgers and a Golden Snitch. The Keeper guards the goal posts, the Chasers score goals with the Quaffle, the Beaters keep the Bludgers away from their team, and the Seeker catches the Golden Snitch. The object of the game is to score more points than your opponent. Each goal is worth ten points, and catching the Snitch is worth one hundred and fifty points. The game ends only when the Snitch is caught, or by mutual consent of the two team captains. Got it?"

The three of them stared blankly at the older man. He sighed.

"Never mind. You'll get to see how the game is played soon. The Quidditch World Cup is coming, and a lot of people are going. That includes Harry. Too many people aren't good, especially at this point of time. No one knows who might be in the crowd. So, Dumbledore requested that you three go undercover to the World Cup and look out for anything suspicious. Understood?"

The trio nodded.

"Alright. Now we need to get you guys some clothes and robes. You look like thorns in the roses." Kakashi took an innocent look around. "Or maybe the other way round…"

Sakura shot him a look and Naruto laughed. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Okay then! Off to Madam Malkin's!" Kakashi said, smiling goofily.

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"First Years, dearies?" Madam Malkin asked casually as she took the measurements for Naruto.

"Uh…" Sakura muttered, not knowing what the hell the woman was talking about. She and Sasuke were sitting closely together, kind of freaked out by the self-moving measurement tapes. Kakashi, having sensed their discomfort, replied for them.

"Fourth years. They're exchange students from Japan."

"Oh really? I've never heard of exchange students coming to Hogwarts before…"

"It's a new programme that Dumbledore's trying out."

"I see… Alright, the next boy, please!"

Naruto took Sasuke's seat as he stood up, looking relieved.

"Your appearances are very... diverse from the people around here," Madam Malkin pointed out as she measured the length of Sasuke's arm.

Kakashi chuckled and scratched the back of his head nervously.

"It's uh… a fashion in our country?" he lied. In the background, Sasuke snorted and Naruto resisted the urge to laugh. Sakura had trouble keeping herself from smacking her forehead.

The witch looked at him strangely.

"O-okay then. Next girl please!" Sakura stood up and Sasuke took her seat. Madam Malkin took her measurements quickly and began making their robes with her wand. Team seven wandered around the shop while she worked on their robes.

"Oh! And all of you need dress robes for that upcoming event this year!" Madam Malkin suddenly said, as if just remembering.

"Right… Sasuke, Naruto, come with me. I'll help you guys pick. Sakura… uh…" Kakashi said, faltering at the last part.

"It's alright. I'll help her with it," Madam Malkin said with a kind smile. Kakashi nodded and muttered a 'thanks' before ushering Sasuke and Naruto to another part of the shop. Madam Malkin turned to the pink-haired medic nin and smiled.

"Alright then, dear, which type of dress would you want? And of what colour?" the kind witch asked the kunoichi, who stuttered.

"I'm not... uh... sure. I've never really... owned a dress..." Sakura's voice trailed off at the last bit, which Madam Malkin thankfully didn't hear.

"It's okay then. I'll help you decide. You're a beautiful young lady, you know that?"

Sakura blushed, muttering a small 'thank you', and the witch chuckled as she took out rolls of fabric and spread them on her counter, and assessed her pink-haired customer. She finally said -

"Would you be alright with..."

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"... the green and purple one?" Kakashi asked his male ex-students, barely containing his maniacal laughter at the horrified look on Sasuke's face, and at how Naruto's was turning blue.

"Hell NO!" the two rivals and best friends yelled at the same time, stuffing the hideous... thing back where it came from. Kakashi laughed, eyes crinkling. Sasuke glared murderously at him and Naruto randomly picked a tux from the rack.

"Hey what about this one - Oooo! It's pretty!" Naruto said, his tone switching from bored to thrilled. Sasuke saw what he was holding and walked away, deliberately ignoring his blonde team mate. Kakashi stared blankly at his blonde ex-student, who was holding a black tux, which had a suspicious tint of orange to it. The collared button-up shirt underneath was bright-freaking-orange.

Perfectly normal.

Except, well, the poor guy wore orange every _stinkin' _day.

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Madam Malkin and Sakura headed out of the changing room and were greeted with a goofy Naruto and Kakashi and an annoyed Sasuke. They paid for their clothes and were out of the shop.

"Time to get the books, kids!!" Kakashi said with mock enthusiasm. The trio glared at him.

"Fine… _Team_…"

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"Okay Ki – " Kakashi began, but the glares he received stopped him. "I mean, _team_, we'll be leaving tomorrow, for the Quidditch World Cup. You'll all be wearing these."

He tossed each of them a bundle of black cloth. Sakura caught hers and help it up in front of her, letting it unfold.

"A black cloak?"

"Yes, Sakura-chan. It _is_ an undercover mission…" Sakura flushed.

"But won't this attract more attention?"

Kakashi heaved out a heavy sigh. "Haven't you seen how those witches and wizards dress up? Compared to them, you guys look ridiculous right now…"

"Pfft… whatever."

"Okay then! Have a good rest. We'll be leaving early in the morning. Tomorrow will be a pretty long day. Ja!"

And with a poof, he was gone.

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"Sakura… Sakura…" Sasuke whispered softly, shaking the petite pink-haired teen from her slumber. She grudgingly sat up into a crumpled but technically upright position.

"It's morning already?" she asked as she yawned widely, stretching like a cat. Sasuke sat back down on his bed and wrapped the bandages around his left arm, followed by the black armbands.

"Yeah, another day. Get up and face it."

Sakura groaned. She plopped back down onto her bed as she waited for Naruto to be done with his showering. She watched Sasuke put on his black ninja shoes.

The young Uchiha was wearing entirely black; his normal training attire. The long sleeved shirt ended with bandages on both forearms, black arm bands on the left, and his long black pants ended with bandages around his shin, the bandages ending at his ankles which were hidden in his ninja sandals.

He usually wore black attire for undercover missions, and would wear that weird white zip-up short-sleeved shirt with the high collar, with the arm guards and heavy-looking cloth hanging around his waist, the purple butt-bow, black baggy pants, the high ninja shoes with his precious Kusanagi strapped to his butt-bow, an attire he adopted from being Orochimaru's apprentice, on other kinds of normal missions which involved plenty of ass-kicking. He certainly couldn't go around Konoha in that attire.

Personally, Sakura thought that Sasuke should go _everywhere_ in that outfit.

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After all of them dressed up, they waited for their silver-haired sensei to arrive, in his typical, irritatingly late and smoky entrance.

"That old fart's late!!" Naruto said as he threw himself onto his bed, his cloak spreading out beneath him.

"State the obvious, why don't you," Sasuke said coolly, not moving from his spot on the window ledge.

"... But it's obvious, so why do I need to state it?" Naruto said, his cute face scrunching up in innocent confusion. Sasuke and Sakura stared at their team mate with a straight face.

"... You're dumber than I thought," Sasuke muttered, shaking his head, looking slightly incredulous.

"Then you should've thought I was dumber HAH who's the dumb one now, eh?!" Naruto said loudly, pointing at Sasuke victoriously.

Sasuke rolled his onyx eyes.

Sakura ran a dainty hand down her face, giving Naruto up as a lost cause.

-

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Poof!

"Yo. I see you guys're up early," the jounin said in his usual lazy drawl.

"Good morning to you, too," Sakura said sarcastically.

"Okay then… team…" Kakashi managed to stop himself just in time from saying 'kids'. "We'll be leaving through Portkey again in fifteen minutes. Now, follow me," Kakashi instructed. The three younger Konoha ninjas obliged.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke fastened their cloaks. The four of them walked through the rushing people and hustle and bustle around them to get to the World Cup. There were a lot of wizards and witches who stared at them, making comments like "That girl has pink hair!" and "What kind of rubbish are they wearing?".

Naruto glared at all the people staring at them openly and making rude comments. Sakura, on the other hand, was ready to pounce on them, if not for Sasuke holding her back, holding tightly onto a portion of her black cloak. He ignored his newly-formed group of squealing fan-witches. Some were actually giggling at how adorable Naruto was.

Kakashi just continued reading his smutty orange book, oblivious to his surroundings. However, he seemed to know which way to go, walking through narrow alleys, busy streets and a deserted shop. There was a table in the middle of the room and a Konoha headband was placed on top of it.

"Gather around the table and hold on to the headband. All you have to do for this part of the mission is just to make sure nothing goes wrong in the World Cup. If anything does go wrong, throw an exploding tag into the air. Understood?" Kakashi said, looking at his team seriously, all trace of goofiness gone from his eyes. Or eye, in his case.

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you guys not to call me sensei anymore…"

"But you like it when we call you that…" Sakura said, smiling cheekily.

"You cheeky little brat. You don't remain cute forever, though," Kakashi uttered under his breath, smiling at his only female student, ruffling her hair affectionately.

"Okay then. Good luck and be good! Ja!"

Just as he said the last word, the trio felt a familiar tug at their navels and were once again, whizzing through the air, unnoticed by anyone. Kakashi stared at the spot his team just disappeared from, and he too, disappeared in a puff of white smoke.

-

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_"Why'd you tell them it's an A-ranked mission? It's just a bodyguard mission."_

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_"I needed to make sure they were ready to give up their lives."_

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**Author's note: **... I don't even know what to say anymore.


	3. Going Undercover:The Quidditch World Cup

Anime/Manga » Naruto » **One's a Wizard, Two's a Ninja** B s : A A A Author: k2thein 1. The Mission:Harry What?2. Team 7's Arrival: Kakashi's Early?3. Going Undercover:The Quidditch World Cup4. Chakra and Magic: Exempted5. Bad Dreams: Shopping with SasukeFiction Rated: T - English - Romance/Adventure - Reviews: 122 - Published: 10-19-08 - Updated: 12-11-08id:4604334

**Author's Note**: Yo. Basically I didn't do much changes for this chapter. It was hard 'cause I practically took everything from the book about the Quidditch thing. So I was kind of disappointed in this one. I thought it was kinda long and draggy and boring, and yet I still can't do anything without screwing everything up.

And thank you all for your awesome reviews which made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 3

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_Going Undercover: The Quidditch World Cup  
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"Gggrreeaaaattt!!" Naruto whined as he almost crashed into Sakura head-on. Their cloaks flapped wildly behind them.  
"Are we seriously going to let go again?" Sakura asked, sounding like she wanted to do anything but.

As though answering her question, some kind of magnetic force repelled them from the headband and soon, they were falling head first onto the ground.

Again.

Having had experience on what was about to happen, their ninja instincts kicked in. The trio flipped over in the rushing air and landed on their feet. But the impact was too powerful that Naruto staggered and fell face first onto ground. Sasuke managed to pump a small amount of chakra to the soles of his feet, just enough to land him in a crouch coolly on the ground, making it look deliberate instead of a desperate attempt to gain his balance. And Sakura, with her perfect chakra control and all, barely spare a thought about it as her chakra automatically kept her standing.

Sakura glanced at her fallen comrade and sweat dropped.

"Oh jeez, Naruto. You're a ninja for god's sake!" Sakura chided as she helped Naruto up.

"Guys…" Sasuke said, sounding slightly dazed.

"Hmm?"

"This is one heck of a stadium…"

Sakura's and Naruto's head whipped around to see a scene which they never could have imagined.

They were standing at the highest place there, and could see everything going on in the pitch. A hundred and thousand witches and wizards were taking their places in the seats which rose in levels around the long oval pitch. Everything was suffused with a mysterious golden light that seemed to come from the stadium itself. The pitch looked smooth as velvet from their lefty positions. At either end of the pitch stood three goal hoops, fifty feet high; right opposite them, almost at their eye level, was a gigantic black board. Gold writing kept dashing across it as though and invisible giant's hand was scrawling upon it and then wiping it off again.

Sakura gasped at the magnificent view.

"How the hell are we supposed to look after a whole flippin' stadium packed with wand waving freaks and flying broomsticks?" Sasuke asked with a straight face.

Naruto shrugged. "I dunno. Spread out, maybe?" he suggested.

"Okay then. Who wants to stay in this box. This place looks like a box. Seriously," Sasuke said, looking around the small room they were in.

"Then what do you want it to look like? Cake?" Sakura said, leaning forward to look out at the scene before them. Sasuke glared at her. He pulled up his hood. The shadow caused by the hood covered the upper half of his handsome face.

"Sakura'll stay and Naruto and I'll walk around. Naruto, you take the left side, I'll take the right side," and without waiting for a reply, he leapt off towards the crowd. Naruto grumbled and muttered curses towards his raven-haired team mate as he leapt off in the opposite direction his team mate just went, pulling up his hood at the same time. Sakura chuckled softly at her friends' antics. She leaned against the wall next to the ledge, pulling the hood to cover her pink hair and emerald eyes. Her lips were set in a grim line she managed to learn from one of her stoic and white-eyed friends back in Konoha. Though she had to admit, it was partially influenced by the Uchiha.

Okay fine. It was _mostly_ influenced by him. That's what having a brooding, impassive, pain-in-the-butt Uchiha in your team does to you.

She suddenly heard some shuffling of feet behind her; people were coming up the stairs. Thanks to her highly trained senses, she could hear them taking a seat in the front row. She heard one of the boys saying, "Who's that? That's not another Dementor is it?". Fear was evident when he said the last few words. Sakura had no idea who or what the Dementor was, but she turned her head slightly so that the group of people could see the shape of her nose, jaw and chin. That was enough to tell them she was human but their chattering where considerably softer and more strained. She didn't bother looking at them because all she needed to do now was keep an eye out for anything suspicious or dangerous. One of the boys stood up and started talking to something –

"WTF IS THAT THING!?" Inner Sakura screamed, clutching her hair.

Sakura had to bite the inside of her cheek in order not to loose her stoic façade. The boy continued talking to the …thing… as if it was human, and it was replying back. They continued talking for a long while before the boy went back to his seat.

"So that's a house-elf?" another boy asked. "Weird things, aren't they?"

So that's an elf? Go figure. Sakura blocked out the rest of the conversation and concentrated on the task at hand.

"Wild!" a boy said. "I can make that old bloke down there pick his nose again… and again… and again…"

And again, Sakura had to bite the inside of her cheek as inner Sakura rolled around on a non-existent floor, laughing her butt off.

Soon, more people filed in, most of them staring at her as she stood impassively next to the ledge, looking down at the pitch with a stoic face.

"Harry Potter, you know," Sakura heard one of the wizards say loudly, probably a lot older than the boy she heard just now. "Harry Potter… oh, come on now, you know who he is… the boy who survived You-Know-Who… you do know who he is – " he continued, but another man started talking in gibberish Sakura couldn't make a crap out of.

"I'm no great shakes at languages, I need Barty Crouch for this sort of thing. Ah, I see his house-elf's saving him a seat… good job too, those Bulgarian blighters have been trying to cadge the best places… ah, and there's Lucius!"

Sakura sensed rushed activities suddenly happening and the light atmosphere suddenly turned to a tensed one when three people entered the box; a man, a boy and a woman. They started talking and stuff. Sakura wasn't listening. She could see her blonde-haired team mate walking through the crowd, looking un-Naruto-like. He was completely cautious and stealthy. Naruto was a whole different person during missions. Suddenly Naruto tripped over something and got back up quickly, looking around to see if anyone saw him. Sakura inwardly sighed. Or maybe not. Then she saw her raven-haired team mate, strolling, looking around heedlessly once in a while. He, too, was vigilant and furtive.

One of the men from the box stood up and pointed his wand at his throat, saying '_Sonorus_!' and then spoke over the roar of sound that was now filling the packed stadium; his voice echoed over them, booming into every corner of the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen… Welcome! Welcome to the final of the four hundred and twenty-second Quidditch World Cup!"

The spectators screamed and clapped. Thousands of flags waved, adding their discordant national anthems to the racket.

"And now, without further ado, allow me to introduce… the Bulgarian Team Mascots!"

Half of the spectators roared their approval.

"Veela!" a man exclaimed.

A hundred Veela were now gliding out onto the pitch. Veela were women… the most beautiful women Sakura had ever seen… except that they can't possibly be human. Their skin shone like the moon, their white-gold hair fanned out behind them. The music started and Sakura could she that Sasuke and Naruto visibly froze in their tracks. In fact, every male who didn't have their ears covered did.

The Veela started to dance and as the Veela started dancing faster and faster, she could see her team mates nearing the ledge with a dazed look. Movement next to her snapped herself out of her thoughts. Two boys were about to jump down from the box! One of the girls managed to grab onto the red-head one just as he was about to leap off. The other boy, however, almost fell off the ledge. In a burst of activity, Sakura tackled him back to the ground.

"Have you lost it?!" Sakura snarled, making herself sound menacing so that people won't recognize her the next time they hear her. That seemed to snap him out of his trance because he looked at her in surprise. She was on top of him, her arms on either side of his waist. Even in this position, the boy couldn't see Sakura's face, only the lower half of it.

"Harry!" a girl with bushy brown hair cried out and ran over to her fallen friend. Sakura got off Harry, debating on whether this was the Harry Potter she and her team mates were supposed to protect. After she noticed the scar and black hair, she realized it was indeed him. The girl glanced at Sakura as she helped Harry up.

"Thank you so much for saving Harry! Harry, she saved your life! You were about to jump off the ledge! What were you thinking!!" she said, obviously freaking out.

"Watch yourself," Sakura advised the boy in a firm tone.

"Thank – thank you," Harry stuttered his reply, slightly disoriented. The Haruno nodded before turning back to detect where her team mates were.

Sakura saw that Naruto was whacking his head slightly as he resumed walking around. Sasuke was shaking his head, dark bangs swaying.

Angry yells were filling the stadium. The crowd didn't want the Veela to go.

"And now," the man's voice boomed. "Kindly put your wands in the air… for the Irish National Team Mascots!"

The next moment, what seemed to be a great green and gold comet had come zooming into the stadium, and then split into two smaller comets, each hurtling towards the goalposts. A rainbow arced suddenly across the pitch, connecting the two balls of light. The crowd 'oooohed' and 'aaaahed', as though at a firework display. Now the rainbow faded and the balls of light reunited and merged; they had formed a great shimmering shamrock, which rose up into the sky and began to soar over the stands. Something like golden rain seemed to be failing from it –

"Gold coins?" Sakura thought as one of the gold objects landed gently on the palm of her hand. Sakura looked up and noticed that the shamrock was actually composed of thousands of tiny little bearded men with red waistcoats, each carrying a minute lamp of gold or green.

The great shamrock dissolved, the little men drifted down onto the pitch on the opposite side from the Veela, and settled themselves cross-legged to watch the match.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, kindly welcome the Bulgarian National Quidditch team! I give you – Dimitrov!"

A scarlet-clad figure on a broomstick – a _flying_ one – moving so fast it was blurred, shot out onto the pitch from an entrance far below, to wild applause from the Bulgarian supporters.

"Ivanova!"

A second scarlet-clad figure zoomed out.

"Zograf! Levski! Vulchanov! Volkov! Aaaaaand – _Krum_!"

The red-headed boy who almost fell off the ledge with his other friend whom Sakura had saved in the nick of time a few moments ago yelled excitedly, "That's him, that's him!"

"_That_'s Viktor Krum?" the bushy haired-girl asked incredulously, her dark chocolate orbs glued on the scarlet-robed figure on a very fast-moving broomstick. Sakura squinted to get a better view of the Quidditch player who seemed to be very popular. Fan-girls were screaming their heads off at the Bulgarian side of the stadium. Sakura almost laughed at the expression on Sasuke's face.

Viktor Krum was thin, dark and sallow-skinned, with a large curved nose and thick black eyebrows. The corners of Sakura's lips twitched. It reminded her of the 'Handsome Green Beast of Konoha'. She could see Naruto pause to stare at Krum, a grin making its way to his face.

"And now, please greet – the Irish National Quidditch Team!" the older wizard yelled. "Presenting – Connolly! Ryan! Troy! Mullet! Moran! Quigley! Aaaaaand – _Lynch_!"

Seven green blurs swept onto the pitch.

"And here, all the way from Egypt, our referee, acclaimed Chairwizard of the International Association of Quidditch, Hassan Mostafa!"

A small and skinny wizard, completely bald but with a moustache, wearing robes of pure gold to match the stadium, strode out onto the pitch. A silver whistle was protruding from under the moustache, and he was carrying a large wooden crate under one arm, a broomstick under the other. He mounted his broomstick and kicked the crate open – four balls burst into the air: a scarlet one which Sakura guessed was the Quaffle, two black ones which she thought were the Bludgers, and Sakura managed to catch a glimpse of something small, winged and gold before it sped out of sight. That, Sakura thought, must have been the Snitch. With a sharp blast on his whistle, Mostafa shot into the air after the balls.

"Theeeeey're off!" screamed the commentator, who would be the man standing a few feet from Sakura.

She had to stop herself from gaping. The speed of these players were incredible – the Chasers throwing the Quaffle were moving so fast that the commentator barely had time to say their names.

However, as the game got on, and more time passed, the ninja trio got more and more bored. They needed more action, damnit!

Sakura watched with mild interest as three Irish Chaser zoom closely together with the guy called Troy in the centre, slightly ahead of the other two guys, bearing down upon the Bulgarians.

The game went on for almost an hour more without anything going wrong, besides the injuries that a few of the players got from being hit by the ball or crashing head-on onto the ground. Sakura heard one of the boys saying that one of the techniques where the seeker did a dangerous diversion was called Wronski Feint. Sakura raised a delicate eyebrow at this. It was easy to create a diversion like that in the ninja world. All it took was just a sudden surge of chakra and a wall.

Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were getting bored when suddenly; a shout of "MORSMORDRE!!" rang throughout the whole stadium, booming over the sounds of the spectator's excited yells and screams. The next moment, something vast, green and glittering erupted from the patch of darkness a little beyond the stadium: it flew up over the stadium and into the sky. It was a colossal skull, composed of what looked like emerald stars, with a serpent protruding from its mouth like a tongue.

For a split second, everything became stock still and silent. And the next second, the stadium erupted with screams. The Veela and little bearded men scurried out of the pitch in fear. The Quidditch players zoomed out of the pitch faster than Sakura thought was ever possible. Everyone was scrambling out of their seats to exit the stadium.

"Oh my… Everyone, get out of here, NOW!!" one of the elder wizards commanded urgently, already taking out his wand from under his robes.

"Why? What's wrong?!" the red-headed boy asked as he was ushered roughly out of the room.

"That's the Dark Mark, Ron! Voldemort's mark!" the bushy haired girl said, seizing Ron's jacket and pulling him forcefully out of the room. Harry stood rooted to the ground as he stared at the blazing green mark in the dark sky.

Sakura immediately lost her stoic façade as she caught Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes. All three of them nodded and Sasuke and Naruto jumped off the seats and towards the middle of the pitch. Sakura made to jump from the ledge of the box, but Harry grabbed her cloak before she could take off.

"What're you doing?!" he asked when Sakura whipped her head around to look at him in disbelief.

"My job," she replied, her eyes likes chips of emerald. She quickly yanked her cloak away from his hand and pushed her foot against the ledge, pumping chakra to her feet to cover a longer distance. A sudden rush of adrenaline coursed through her, the wind whipped her short and choppy pink locks, and her cloak flapped wildly behind her. A quick glance behind told her Harry had been ushered out of the room by the bushy haired girl, despite him protesting about something.

Sakura landed gracefully, knees bent and arms limp by her sides. That way, her cloak never revealed any part of her clothing except her shoes. She quickly ran over to her team mates.

"It's Voldemort's mark," Sakura said immediately. Sasuke stared at her.

"No wonder everyone's freaking out…"

"We don't know how strong these people are, Sasuke," Sakura replied, frowning.

"So what do you reckon we do?" Naruto asked, looking at all the people hurrying out of the stadium.

"I'll throw the explosion tag," Sakura said, already whipping one out from her kunai holster. Sasuke and Naruto examined their surroundings as Sakura gathered her strength, which was a lot, and threw the kunai high over the top of the stadium, which was freakishly high. It exploded in the air, red and blue smoke erupting from it. It was supposed to be used as a distraction in missions, but heck.

"I saw the light coming from the forest next to this stadium - " Sakura began, but Sasuke's eye widened and suddenly grabbed her by the waist and Naruto by the back of his collar and pulled them flat onto the ground.

"Wha - ?" Naruto exclaimed, before twenty wizards and witches appeared out of thin air in the whirl of their black cloaks.

"STUPEFY!!" they roared in unison. There was a blinding series of flashes and the Konoha trio felt the hair on their heads ripple as though a powerful wind had swept the pitch. Raising his head a fraction of an inch, Sasuke saw jets of fiery red light flying over them from the wizards' wands, exploding in a small firework display above the trio. He could feel Sakura shaking and Naruto trembling. They barely had enough time to move when the wizards repeated the same spell.

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura flipped out of the way so fast they looked like mere flashes.

"STUPEFY!!" The grass which they had been laying on a split second ago was now fried.

"Shadow Replication technique!" Naruto yelled from his position in the air, and many other Narutos poofed next to him, all of them landing on a bunch of unsuspecting wizards, successfully taking them down. Sasuke was knocking the wizards out two at a time, and Sakura was holding her own against a particularly tough witch, who wouldn't stop trying to hex her. But that was, of course, before she got pissed and whacked the woman hard enough on the back of her head to render her unconscious.

Apparently, those wizards and witches considered them a threat, and called in reinforcements.

"God! Will you people just listen?! We're trying to - eep!" Sakura yelped when an unexpected jinx hit her legs, causing her to instantaneously collapse to the ground due to immobile legs.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, deflecting a hex with two kunai. Sasuke growled, a little further from Naruto and Sakura.

The wizard who cast that spell smiled maliciously over her helpless form, raising his wand, knowing that she was screwed -

"Leave her alone, asswipe!" until Sasuke delivered an almost-comical, _very _uncharacteristic, flying kick to the man's face, sending him reeling a few yards away.

Which, of course, pissed the wizards off.

This then led to the remaining twenty-something wizards and witches plus reinforcements circling Naruto and Sasuke, aiming their wands at the ninjas. Naruto and Sasuke crouched protectively in front of their fallen comrade, teeth gritted and fists clenched, trying to look intimidating, which sort of worked for Sasuke.

"STUPEFY!" bellowed all of them in unison, and Naruto and Sasuke instinctively curled their bodies slightly around Sakura, as though protecting her from the incoming threat.

Sure, Naruto and Sasuke could have just leapt out of the way, but that meant leaving Sakura alone, and there was no way in hell they were leaving the precious female of Team 7 there when she's so helpless. They could've carried her, but they were surrounded. The chances were slim that they could escape, ninja-speed or not.

The three members of the ever dynamic Team 7 closed their eyes and waited for whatever was to come.

And it came.

Just... not what they expected.

"KAITEN!!"

A huge gust of what felt like very strong wind swirled around them at a very high speed. Sakura's, Naruto's and Sasuke's eyes snapped open to see the spinning form of the Hyuuga prodigy right above them. They couldn't see his form well as he was hidden under a black cloak, just like the trio. They heard loud crackling sounds as each jet of red light bounded off the chakra shield Neji had created.

"When I stop, make a run for it!!" he yelled in Japanese, already slowing down.

"NOW!!" he shouted just as he stopped spinning and all four of them disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

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"Neji! What are you doing here?!" Naruto asked as the four of them tore through the forest. Actually it was three. Sakura's legs were still useless, and she was resorted to being carried by none other than the silent Uchiha, who surprisingly didn't complain about having to carry her.

Neji glanced at the blonde; his clear pale eyes looked like they were glowing in the shadows.

"The Hokage found out that magical spells could be deflected by my Kaiten and sent me to find you guys to inform you about this. She said that the spells could be deflected with chakra, something about magic being another form of chakra. Kakashi saw the explosion in the sky and told me to find you three immediately," he explained quickly, Byakugan activated.

"Turn left after eight steps," Neji ordered. They turned left and were met with a clearing big enough to hold a few tents. The Hyuuga held out a hand, signaling them to stop. They obliged.

"Kakashi told me to take you guys here. Something about a portkey."

Sakura and Naruto instinctively groaned. Sasuke sighed, balancing both his and Sakura's weight mostly on one foot. He hoisted Sakura slightly higher on his back.

"Not that thing again! I always feel throwing up whenever I land!" Naruto complained.

Poof!

Kakashi appeared. Something was different though, he wasn't smiling like the way he usually does, and the smutty little orange book was nowhere in sight. He took out a Konoha headband and held it out.

"Hold on to this. We'll talk about this when we get back to the Inn."

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"What happened there?" Kakashi asked, folding his arms and sitting on the railing of the balcony. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke were sitting on their respective beds, while Neji sat on the couch.

"The game was going fine with all the flying broomsticks and it was so cool and did you see that dive-bomb thing they did with their brooms and that dude crashed onto the ground and then the pretty women dancing and the gold coins falling from the sky and - " Naruto blabbered excitedly, before Sakura clamped a hand over his mouth, sighing.

"The game was going on fairly well. Then a jet of green light shot out from the forest we were just running through and the mark appeared in the sky. And everyone started screaming and running for their lives. I don't get it though. It wasn't hurting anyone or anything," Sasuke explained.

"One of the witches in the box with me said it was Voldemort's mark. But I still don't see why it's such a big deal…" Sakura said.

"Look, can someone just explain what the skull thing was?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrows furrowing.

"The mark hasn't been seen in thirteen years. Seeing it is like seeing Voldemort himself," Kakashi said boredly, as though he memorized it from a book. The four of them stared at the jounin.

"Tsunade forced me to read the stupid history books or else she would burn my entire Icha Icha collection, including the posters," he said, shuddering slightly. Sasuke and Neji ran a hand down their faces.

"Maybe I would too, if you won't stop reading it in front of me!" Sakura threatened, a fist shaking in front of her. Kakashi held up his hands in defense.

"You can't get up, girl," Kakashi pointed out, gesturing to her currently-useless legs.

"DIE, SENSEI!!"

Kakashi laughed, albeit nervously.

"But what's the whole point of sending an explosion into the air? It's not like you can't already see the Mark," Sasuke inquired, folding his arms across his chest and narrowing his dark eyes.

"The explosion is just to confirm that something really is wrong there. I couldn't possibly make out the Dark Mark from where I was," Kakashi replied. "It would have just looked like a green streak. And that signals me to follow Harry to make sure nothing happens to him."

"But he had his friends with him and the elder wizards…" Sakura said.

"That may be true, but it's better to be safe than sorry, eh? Besides, when I found him, he was without his wand. Of course, I couldn't possibly go up to him and help him. I had to be hidden. But he found his wand with an elf at the place where the Dark Mark was conjured from."

"Elf?!" Naruto squeaked.

"Yeah, I saw one in the box. It was so - " Sakura shuddered. " – gross."

Kakashi sighed tiredly. "Okay, team, Neji will be sent temporarily on this mission just to teach you guys about the whole chakra and magic thing."

"Hai…"

"Wait… Where will he be sleeping, Kaka-sensei?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"I'll just sleep on the couch. I'll be leaving before you guys go to _school_ anyway," Neji said, snickering slightly. He dumped his bag next to the couch and plopped down with a soft sigh on the couch.

"Alright then. Rest well, team. I've got to go back to Konoha to clear some things up. We'll be leaving for Hogwarts the day after tomorrow. Ja!"

"Ah, wait - !" Sakura began, but it was too late.

With the trademark poof, he was gone.

"Shoot. I wanted to ask him how long my legs will remain like this."

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_"With all due respect, Tsunade-sama, why do you have so much faith and confidence in them? They're merely young ninjas who've recently passed their Chuunin exams."_

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_"Because they're Team 7. Isn't that reason enough?"_

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**Author's note: **... I still don't know what to say.

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	4. Chakra and Magic: Exempted

**Author's Note: **Yo. Sorry for not updating for so long. My computer crashed about a week ago and I lost all my documents and everything. The thing just got fixed yesterday. So.. Here it is. And I apologize if it's too short.

Anyway you guys can check out how Sasuke's hair is supposed to be like in this chapter (and possibly future chapters) in my profile page. :)

Really boring chapter. Full of dialogues. And information.

Enjoy.

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_Chapter 4_

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_Chakra and Magic: Exempted_

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The next morning, Neji announced to the other three heavy-eyed ninjas that he had found an ideal location for their magic training.

Their room.

"I don't get," Sakura said, carrying the couch over her head with a single hand and pausing to send one of the beds screeching across the floor to align itself against the opposite wall. The best part? She was still in her PJs; a pair of shorts and one of Sasuke's shirts which looked way too big for her small frame.

"Why _I_," she continued, pausing again to toss the couch in front of the bed. It sent tremors across the entire level as it hit the floor.

"Have to do a _man_'s job," she finished, turning around to glare at the impassive Uchiha and Hyuuga while placing her hands on her hips. Naruto was curled up next to Sasuke, asleep. And snoring. And _whistling_.

"You're strong," the white-eyed prodigy stated matter-of-factly. Then his eyes narrowed when something clicked in his genius mind.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, stuffing his hands into his pants and scrutinized the pink-haired medic through his long raven bangs which covered his forehead entirely, and fell over the bridge of his nose. Fortunately it parted just enough for people to see his eyes, and him to see others.

Why was his hair like that, you may ask? Because the freaking Hyuuga just had to freaking wake them up at five in the stinking morning, shouting and freaking clapping at them to make sure that they woke up, like it's some freaking screwed up boot camp. That also explained why all three of them, excluding Mr boot-camp-instructor himself, were still in their PJs, which _also _meant that both Naruto and himself were lacking shirts.

Speaking of shirts –

"Is that my shirt?" the stoic onyx-eyed prodigy asked Sakura, who in turn shuffled her feet and laughed nervously. It didn't help that Sasuke wasn't wearing one.

"Yeah," she mumbled, refusing to meet his piercing gaze. Next to Sasuke, Neji looked like he was deeply contemplating something. People would know; he's muttering to himself and drawing strange-ass diagrams. In the air.

"Don't you have your own shirts?" Sasuke asked again, his voice a monotone it almost sounded like a degrading statement. In truth, he was merely curious as to why his female teammate wore his shirt, which he now noticed had been missing for weeks.

"It's comfortable, okay!" she shot back defensively, looking up unintentionally to meet his suddenly smug expression.

"I know."

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"Today," Neji began, with his hands behind his back as he paced in the middle of the space cleared up for their training. Naruto was curled up in the corner, barely awake and clutching a bolster. Sasuke sat leaning against the wall opposite Naruto's, and Sakura sat cross-legged in the centre, hugging a pillow.

"We're going to learn how to utilize our chakra and this world's magic together. But before that," he finally settled on leaning against the wall facing the only female, centralizing himself. His pearly gaze flicked to the raven-haired male.

"Uchiha, Snap your fingers."

Silence.

"What?" Team 7 said in unison. See, they _are_ the best in team work.

"Snap your fingers," Neji repeated firmly, crossing his arms across his strong chest to press his point.

"Why?" Sasuke said, imitating him by folding his arms, too. He simply refused to do something like snapping his fingers for nothing.

"Just do it," Neji paused, searching for the right words. "You'll like it."

Both prodigies glared at each other, and Sakura swore she saw a spark.

"Fine," Sasuke said eventually, deciding that he'll just get it over and done with so that they can learn about magic.

In a single, swift movement, he snapped his pale fingers. The ninjas watched silently. It hadn't been anything special actually. Just a simple snapping of fingers. The only thing was that if Sakura thought she saw a spark earlier on, she definitely saw one the moment Sasuke's thumb and middle finger connected.

And that tiny, tiny, spark erupted into a roaring flame which nearly singed Sasuke's hair, and burnt the ceiling before subsiding into a small flame at the tip of his index finger.

All that barely last five seconds. Naruto was fully awakened now and was gawking, mouth agape and eyes wide. Sakura just stared, jaws slack.

"Hmm. Thought so," Neji murmured to himself.

"How'd he do that?!" Naruto exclaimed.

"How'd I do that?" Sasuke muttered, smirking as he stared at the flame.

"Friction," Neji said. He pushed himself off the wall and resumed pacing, at the same time giving an explanation.

"Friction and a whole lot of chakra. Tell me, Sasuke, do you feel depleted of chakra?"

Sasuke felt good as new.

"No."

"Good as new, aren't you?"

"What the hell _are_ you?"

Neji ignored him.

"The only reason he was able to do that is due to the magic around us. Magic is chakra, it's just more freely used and released more. That's why, in this world, our chakra travels faster and easier. The atmosphere here is unlike that of the ninja villages. In fact, thanks to the magic surrounding us in this world, our chakra reserves are greatly increased. It could be considered an external source of chakra," Neji explained, brows furrowed in concentration at the floor as he carried on pacing. His mental gears were whirring so fast it could almost be heard.

"I don't get it," Naruto stated. Sasuke and Sakura ignored him. Neji went on.

"See, when he snapped his fingers, there was friction, and his chakra enabled that incredibly small amount of friction to create a spark, and even more chakra to form a fire. Seeing that he already has a huge chakra reserve to begin with, it isn't really that hard to create a fire so big it could fry Konoha in its entirety, and possibly the neighboring countries too."

"But why didn't we feel any different when we were at the World Cup? Sasuke should've been creating a hellhole with the friction from the crowd," Sakura questioned, her eyes sharp. Neji stopped his pacing to look thoughtfully at Sakura.

"That, I'm not so sure. It might've been because your bodies weren't accustomed to the magic yet. And also you tend to compress your chakra when you're on guard. The only way to merge chakra," he held out his right hand.

"And magic," he gather his chakra to the palm of his hand.

"Is to expose your chakra," he kept a constant flow of chakra towards his palm.

"To magic."

The moment the chakra exited his body, it instantaneously ascended into a crescendo, creating chakra so strong it was visible. Neji didn't even look like he was trying.

"Bloody hell," Naruto uttered under his breath. Sasuke remained silent, and so did Sakura.

"I asked you guys to get up this early in the morning - "

"Five in the morning."

" – is because your guard is lowered. Which means your chakra is allowed to flow in a less restricting manner. Over here, we don't need hand seals. In order for this to work, you need excellent chakra control. Not good, but _excellent_."

"Not again," Naruto groaned. Neji diverted his attention to him.

"Alright then, moron. Blow."

"What?" Man, they're good.

"I said blow."

"Uh… okay…"

And Naruto blew.

And created a freaking mini-hurricane in the freaking room which sent everything but the ninjas flying, before settling into a gentle breeze.

"Okay seriously! What the hell!" Naruto yelled, cerulean eyes wide.

"I knew it; your chakra reserves are far too big to be so easily controlled, what with the external source and all. Uchiha's specializing element is fire, and most probably lightning too, based on his Chidori, and the idiot's is wind. It's only natural that your main and strongest element in this world would be those. Sakura's a healer and uses strength to her advantage. Her strength would be immensely increased, and so would her healing abilities. The only kind of jutsu you ever use in battle is genjutsu, right Sakura?" Neji asked the medic, face impassive. Sakura nodded.

"So her illusions should be more than illusions in this world."

Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stared blankly at him.

"Are you freaking _serious_, Hyuuga?"

"Yeah. It'll almost be like telekinesis, really."

"She could kill and torture someone with that! And – and – and her _strength_!"

'_Hell yeah!_' Inner Sakura hollered.

"She won't. Her chakra control is legendary. It's you two who might kill someone," Neji said, glaring at the two boys. Sasuke glared back.

"So that means that as long as there's magic around us, our chakra is vastly increased?" Sakura inquired, her delicate brows furrowing slightly. Neji nodded.

"In other words, over here, we have limitless amount of chakra," he said. It sent shivers up Sakura's spine just thinking about the amount of power they had.

"And in even shorter words," Sasuke said, not able to contain his wicked smirk. Naruto's face split into a broad grin when he finally caught on. Sakura swallowed.

"We're invincible."

_Poof!_

"Naruto. You're exempted from this mission."

-

-

"_We have to get Naruto back, Hokage-sama. He's unstable there."_

"_Don't speak of him as though he's a monster!"_

-

"_He's not. But the thing in him is."_

_-_

_

* * *

_**Author's Note:**How's that, eh? You guys wanted Naruto with Hinata right? Then you're getting it.

Sorry the ending's so crappy. I didn't know how to end it. Or how to begin it, actually. -.-

Thanks for reading. :)_  
_


	5. Bad Dreams: Shopping with Sasuke

**Author's Note: **Yo. I'll just type a short AN and edit this thing again tomorrow. Sorry about the late post. Been having certain problems.

This chap's not edited yet, so I'll edit it some other time.

_[EDIT]: Btw, I had trouble with this chapter because I wasn't sure how to start it off. -.- But rest assure, I'll definitely be having fun typing the next few chapters because they'll finally be in Hogwarts. XD_

Enjoy. :)

_

* * *

_

-

_Chapter 5_

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_Bad Dreams : Shopping with Sasuke_

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_She was in a dark room, where the stench of decay hung in the air like canvas. Fear laced the air, and the source of it was from a short, ratty-looking man who was kneeling next to an armchair. There were two cloaked figures standing imposingly across the armchair, on the other side of her, one much taller than the other and lugging a large sword-like thing on his back._

_She was in the middle of potentially dangerous beings._

_From her perspective, she couldn't see the face of the person who sat on the armchair, because she was looking from a much lower level, like from a cat's point of view. Or even a snake._

"_W-who're you and what business do you h-have here?!" the stout man, a servant, it seems, sputtered, mostly in fear of the daunting figures._

"_We require your assistance, Voldemort-san," the shorter of the two shrouded silhouettes said, his voice an appealing deep tone which bore no hint of malice. He had ignored the filthy man. The man had some sort of accent, too. Chinese? Japanese?_

"_Do not address the Dark Lord so informally!!" the servant squeaked in terror, remaining loyal to his master. He was fearful of what his ruthless master would do to people who blatantly disrespect him._

"_Quiet." _

_With a single glance from the shorter of the cloaked figures, Wormtail collapsed, his balding head nearly hitting her scaly head. She slithered a little away._

"_Impressive," a strangely high-pitched voice uttered. It was a man's voice, but it was so cold and sharp, like a sudden blast of icy wind. "Who are you, exactly?"_

"_Who we are does not matter. All we need is your assistance," the cloaked man said. The cloak, now he realized, was black with red clouds on it, and had a high collar. Odd. _

_Voldemort gave a short bark of laughter, and it sounded like a broken glass bottle against a blackboard. _

"_Ignorant muggles," Voldemort hissed contemptuously. "State your name and purpose, mudblood."_

"_We're from an organization. That's all I'm revealing. We need your help in locating a boy and bringing him to us," the mad said in a velvety voice, sounding like he was from an upper class family with strict disciplinary rules._

"_Organization? What makes you think I'll be willing to cooperate with mudbloods like you?" Voldemort sneered, lacing his shrewd and bony fingers together over his wand as he scrutinized the men in front of him._

_The man with the sword thing on his back, who apparently has blue skin, muttered something along the lines of, "What the heck's a mudblood?" The shorter man ignored him._

"_Because I can kill you," he said monotonously, his voice unwavering and so detached; it sent shivers down her spine. _

_There was a pregnant pause, where tension stretched so tight it could snap at any given moment._

"_Avada Keda - !"_

"_Don't even think about it!" _

_The larger man had unstrapped his weapon and held the tip at Voldemort's neck threateningly in the same amount of time Voldemort took to utter –unsuccessfully- the killing spell._

"_At ease, Kisame. This man is no threat to us," the shorter man murmured to his comrade, tilting his head slightly to the side to regard him. Then, he diverted his attention back to Voldemort , who was obviously stunned at being besmirched by them._

"_I suggest that you'd just do as I say, or we'll have to do it the harder way. Honestly, I do not wish to do that," the man said calmly. It seemed like this man was void of any emotions. He barely even blinked during that scene between Voldemort and the other blue man called Kisame._

"_Do I have a choice?" Voldemort hissed, his chin held up by the wrapped tip of Kisame's blunt sword. Said swordsman shook his head somberly. _

"_We need you to locate a boy, he's supposed to be 14 now, and he's attending Hogwarts as a Fourth Year student with his two of his closest friends; a girl and a boy, incredibly smart and moronic respectively. He shares a brotherly bond with the moron…" he suddenly trailed off, muttering something under his breath, and – was there a tone of regret? Shame, even?_

_Composing himself swiftly, he went on, "He has dark hair - "_

"_Are we talking about Harry Potter?" Voldemort interrupted, the place where his eyebrows are supposed to be crinkled slightly. _

"_No," he replied. _

"_As I was saying, this boy has dark hair. And his eyes," he paused. "They're like mine."_

_Voldemort saw something in his eyes that she couldn't see and his slits for eyes widened slightly. She hissed indignantly. _

"_Come, Nagini," her master whispered, and she obediently slithered up the armchair to rest on his lap. _

_The man had red, no, crimson, eyes, with black tomoes circling the pupil. They were eyes that killed._

"_I warn you; kill him or his friends, and you will die. You may take what matters most to him to lure him out, but you cannot kill them." His blood red eyes held a real, terrifying threat._

"_What do I get in return, then?" Voldemort demanded. Kisame held back the sudden urge to laugh. Who did this guy think he was?_

"_After I get the boy," he inclined his head ever so slightly towards the snake incarnation. _

"_A lifetime of servitude."_

"_What?" Both Kisame and Voldemort hissed. Apparently that wasn't what was planned._

"_That wasn't part of the plan, Itachi!" Kisame whispered furiously in Japanese. Again, Itachi ignored his comrade. Voldemort didn't understand what his comrade just said._

"_I'll be your slave, I'll do as you say, I'll kill at command," his voce held no hesitation, unfaltering, it was slightly unnerving. "Don't you want it; the ultimate weapon?" _

_It was so, so tempting._

"_When do you need the boy?"_

"_Before the end of this school year."_

_That seemed like the dismissing sentence, because Kisame finally withdrew his giant sword and the both of them turned to leave._

"_Why can't you search for him on your own anyway?" Voldemort couldn't help but ask. These men, whoever they were, were a real danger to him. _

"_We have other matters to attend to at home," Itachi explained curtly, his back facing him. He suddenly stiffened like he said something wrong. Kisame flicked a quizzical look at his comrade._

"_What is the name of the boy you seek?"_

_But too late, they were already gone._

Many miles away, in the Burrow, the boy called Harry Potter woke with a start.

-

-

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke!"

"What?"

"Can we get flying brooms? They look like fun. "

Sasuke sighed.

-

-

"Ron! Ronald! Wake up!" Hermione Granger exclaimed, prodding the redhead exasperatedly. He stirred before jolting up and pulling the blanket up to his chin, cursing slightly under his breath when he realized Hermione, fully dressed, was in his room while he was barely dressed.

"Bloody hell, 'mione. What is it?" he grumbled groggily.

"Hurry up and get dressed. We're going to Diagon Alley to do some last minute shopping, remember? Are you alright, Harry? You look a pale," she asked, concerned, turning to her other best friend who was sweating slightly. He did indeed look a little pale.

"N-no. It's nothing. A bad dream, that's all," he replied unconvincingly, but she left it at that.

"Just hurry. We're leaving in ten minutes."

-

-

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke!"

"Hn."

"Isn't that cat just the cutest thing?"

Sasuke sighed.

-

-

"Alright then, Ron, Harry and Hermione, Hagrid'll be following you around. Get whatever you need and be back here in half an hour," Mrs Weasley said, looking flustered as she clutched her purse tightly.

"Okay, Mrs Weasley," Harry replied, offering her a small smile before he got ushered by Hagrid to walk. She smiled back and walked in the opposite direction.

"What d'yeh guys need?" Hagrid asked, his voice like a rumble.

"I need to get owl treats for Pig," Ron grumbled, muttering a 'Stupid Pig' under his breath.

"Well, I need new quills and food for Crookshanks," Hermione said.

"Yeah I need to get owl treats for Hedwig, too," Harry said, referring to Ron's statement.

"Alrigh'. Magical Menagerie it is!"

-

-

They opened the door to the pet shop and a bell jingled. Harry, Ron and Hermione were greeted by a ratty-looking shopkeeper and constant hooting, mewling, croaking and squeaking. Hagrid had opted to stay guard outside. Then –

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke!"

"Hn."

"Isn't that cat just the cutest thing?"

There was a sigh, and then there was a soft, "Whatever."

"I'm getting it! You can get that scary-looking owl."

And then a boy and a girl, probably their age, walked out of the felines section and towards the counter to pay for their respective animals. The girl hadn't been kidding; the owl _was_ scary. Its feathers were completely black, but its eyes were bright green, and looked very wise that it seemed like it could read and understand whatever thoughts they had.

"Er… Let's just get our pet food," Harry suggested, but none of his friends were listening; Ron's and Hermione's eyes were glued on the girl and boy respectively.

"Thank you shopkeeper-san!" the _pink_-haired girl chirped cheerily, cradling her newly bought cat happily, while carrying a shopping bag stuffed with clothes in her hand. Like, seriously, her hair was _pink_!

"Why the hell are you so hyper?" her raven-haired and incredibly handsome friend, probably _boy_friend, asked, giving her a _'What the hell is wrong with you?'_ expression.

"Because I'm shopping with you? Haha! Oh, excuse me!" the girl had stopped in front of the trio with a radiant smile on her porcelain face.

"H-huh?" Ron mumbled incoherently.

"We're blocking the entrance," Harry said, sighing as he pulled his stunned friends to the side. "Sorry about that. They aren't usually like this," he apologized sheepishly. It struck him how familiar that dark-haired boy looked. Like he'd seen him somewhere.

"Nah. It's okay!" Again, the girl flashed them another dazzling smile, actually blinding Ron momentarily. Hermione nearly hyperventilated when the dashing boy walked past her.

Sasuke rolled his Sharingan-wielding eyes as they stepped out of the shop.

"You really need to stop doing that to people, Sakura."

"Huh? Do what?"

"Nevermind. You do know that we just talked to that Harry guy we're supposed to be protecting, right?"

"Omigosh we DID?!"

"… That's it, Sakura. No more RedBull for you, and I don't care how depressed you are that the dobe had to go back to Konoha."

-

-

"_When you came over, your chakra has been thrown completely out of balanced, and with it also goes your chakra control. Naruto's barely able to contain the Kyuubi, what more with the added source of power."_

"_B-but - !"_

-

"_Can't you see? Naruto's a ticking time-bomb. He can't stay."

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Review if you wanna! _  
_


	6. Mission Commenced:What Platform?

**Author's Note:** Yo. Sorry for the delay. Was suffering from severe writer's block. Going overseas tomorrow. This chap was done in quite a rush. -.-

Hope you enjoy.

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Chapter 6

_-_

_Mission Commenced: What Platform?  
_

-

-

Hatake Kakashi was an ex-ANBU, a Jounin. An elite. He'd copied over a thousand different jutsus of varying elements with his single Sharingan eye. He'd cut through lightning with his Raikiri.

He had seen many things in life, and yet nothing was like the Chuunin team he was the leader of, which consisted of an ex-missing-nin, a demon container, and a deceptively innocent-looking girl who could tear a hole in the earth with her bare hands.

Team 7 was screwed-up and Kakashi wouldn't have it any other way. He loved them, alright.

He was responsible for them in every mission. He didn't want any of them to do something rash and get themselves hurt or killed unnecessarily. He would do anything in his power to stop that from happening.

Which was why he was leaning quite casually against the wall of Sasuke's and Sakura's inn room with his typical crinkled-eye smile, with said boy and girl blushing furiously – the Uchiha blamed it on anger – on the couch across the Copy-nin.

"Why the hell are you telling us this?" the Sharingan-wielder said darkly. A faint blush was present high on his pale cheeks.

He was settled on the couch with his arms folded across his chest, his posture slumped. Sakura, on the other hand, was sitting so rigidly straight and fists on her knees, it hurt just _looking_ at her.

"Well, I thought that since I wouldn't be there to see the mission through most of the time, and that it's a year-long mission with just you and Sakura - " Kakashi shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sasuke's not the type, Kakashi-sensei," the pinkette said softly, her head bowed slightly to hide the blush gracing her cheeks.

"Sasuke's a man," Kakashi replied, and the medic ducked her head even lower, blushing even harder, if possible.

"We're 14," Sasuke deadpanned.

"Old enough for childbearing, eh, Sakura-chan?" Kakashi grinned suggestively at his female ex-student.

Sasuke cleared his throat awkwardly as Sakura squeaked.

"W-w-wha…? Kakashi-s-sensei! H-h-how – _Don't say things like that!_" she flustered, completely, and utterly, mortified. Kakashi merely chuckled.

"What did you come here for, Kakashi? It can't be just to talk to us about… _that_," the Uchiha snapped impatiently at his ex-sensei. He had finally managed to fight down the blush and now his face was as beautifully pale as it always was.

"Ah. Perceptive as always, Sasuke," Kakashi said, smiling goofily, to which Sasuke responded by giving a noncommittal grunt.

Kakashi took something out from his vest pocket, and tossed it to Sasuke, who caught it effortlessly.

"Communicators?" Sakura asked as Sasuke handed her one of the two given.

"Yes. Since these are the type which just hooks around your ear, you can easily cover it with your hair. In the case that someone sees it, tell them it's hearing aids or something," Kakashi drawled, flapping a hand like he really didn't give a crap. Sasuke snorted.

"Why would we need them? It's just me and Sasuke."

"Exactly. It's you two to the whole school. You'll probably need to split up plenty of times. And Dumbledore adjusted the magical properties of the school so that only these devices would work." Then Kakashi added in a more playful tone, "Don't worry Sasuke, you two can arrange late-night meetings or something."

Sasuke flicked him the finger.

-

-

"Uhm… Excuse me, security guard-san, but may I ask where Platform 9 ¾ is?"

Considering the fact that there was no such platform to a normal, non-magical, human, the pot-bellied man had every right to eye the pink-haired teen with a look which said '_Where're your parents?_'. The uniformed man then looked over the top of her head to see a dark-haired boy her age slouching with his arms folded, resting them on the handle of his cart, observing them with intense, obsidian eyes.

Their eyes met - _'Ah, crap. Pretend you're not part of this, Sasuke.'_ – and the boy looked away.

-

-

"The next time someone blows a freaking whistle into your ear, don't turn on the damn communicator," Sasuke advised stonily, eyebrow twitching slightly. Both he and Sakura were rubbing their poor, abuse ears, courtesy of the security guard. He had reacted in such a way Sakura hadn't expected; blow a freakishly shrill and loud whistle into her ear.

"Sorry! It was an accident!" Sakura apologized. She had unintentionally left her communicator on when the man unleashed the horrifying blare, and Sasuke had the sound transmitted directly to his ear. Needless to say, the boy had cringed and immediately ripped the communicator off before his ears could suffer any more damage.

The people bustling around them had paused for a moment to stare strangely at the two cringing undercover-ninjas.

"Hn. Do you notice something?" Sasuke suddenly asked, frowning as he scrutinized the pillar between platforms 9 and 10. His Sharingan was activated.

"Huh? What is it, Sasuke?"

"That pillar. The one between platforms 9 and 10. It's practically leaking chakra."

"Really? That's odd. And all the people here haven't heard of platform 9 ¾. I don't even see anyone else carrying the same stuff as us," Sakura stated, gesturing to Sasuke's caged owl, their trunks, and the brooms Sakura wanted to get so badly.

The Uchiha quirked a dark eyebrow at her, seeing as he himself had his Kusanagi strapped to his back.

"And I don't get why you have to carry your precious sword everywhere you go. You could've stuffed it into the trunk or something," Sakura said, frowning thoughtfully at the handle of his special katana over his shoulder. "Honestly, Sasuke, people are staring."

It was true; parents were leading their children away from Sasuke, eyeing the weapon on his back warily.

Sasuke merely closed his eyes and grunted as he fixed the communicator back to his ear. His long bangs miraculously managed to hide the device.

"Let's just figure out how to get to the damn platform."

"Oh, look! Aren't they the ones we saw yesterday at the pet shop?" Sakura asked excitedly, pointing her slender finger at the direction of a family of redheads. The bushy-haired girl and Potter boy was with them too.

"You actually remembered?" her companion questioned, and if Sasuke had been the kind who showed emotions as freely as Lee, he would have sounded amazed.

"I'm astounded by your faith in me," the pink-haired medic replied flatly. "Anyway, let's go ask them about platform 9 ¾!"

And with that Sakura skipped away, with Sasuke trudging along behind her, sighing as he pushed the cart laden with all their belongings.

_Annoying, hyper, pink-haired females._

-

-

"Excuse me, but do you, by any chance, know where platform 9 ¾ is? My friend and I are kind of… lost," Sakura asked the plump red-haired woman, scratching the back of her head sheepishly and laughing slightly at how stupid 'getting lost' sounded.

"You're from yesterday, at Magical Menageries! We saw you before!" a familiar-looking red-haired, freckled-face boy exclaimed, looking flabbergasted.

"Are you attending Hogwarts, too, dear?" a plump woman, the boy's mother, enquired. She smiled kindly at her and Sasuke, who was standing impassively behind Sakura, still slumped coolly over the cart handle.

He was dressed like a typical, modern, Japanese boy; white hoodie and black blazer over a white shirt, with a pair of baggy jeans and sneakers. Sakura, on the other hand, was dressed in a simple, oversized , dark green hoodie and black miniskirt, and her normal knee-length ninja boots. They'd both taken off their ninja head protectors.

Sasuke vaguely noted how the bushy haired girl and another younger girl with flaming red tresses sighed dreamily at him.

"Yes," the Haruno grinned brightly, once again, unintentionally blinding the boy, again. This time, his twin brothers weren't spared.

"Whoa," muttered the identical brothers in unison.

"Excellent! These are my children, Ron, Fred, George and Ginny Weasley. And that is Hermione Granger and Harry Potter," Mrs Weasley said cheerily, gesturing to each child respectively. Sakura smiled while Sasuke observed them as their names were mentioned.

"Nice to meet you all! I'm Sakura Haruno, and he's Sasuke Uchiha."

"Mum. The train's going to leave in about 5 minutes," the boy called Fred – or was it George? – told his mother.

"Oh! Then you'd better hurry! All you have to do is walk through the pillar between platforms 9 and 10 and you'll see platform 9 3/4."

Sakura and Sasuke eyed her with identical, skeptical, expressions.

"You can go with one of them, if you're not sure," Mrs Weasley offered, noticing the cynical look the ninjas were giving her.

"Ah, that'll be great! Thank you so much, Mrs Weasley!" Sakura said appreciatively, bowing slightly out of habit.

"It was my pleasure, dear. You can go with Ginny and Hermione, and your friend can go with Ron and Harry."

After that, when all of them walked towards the pillar, surrounded by constant chatter and bustling people, Sakura sensed someone looking at her. She looked up to see Sasuke's onyx orbs boring into her emerald ones.

They exchanged a look, and swiftly looked away.

_Time to be on guard. _

-

-

"Hey, Sakura?"

"Yeah, Ginny?"

"Are you and Sasuke going out?" She asked it like it was the most obvious freaking thing in the world. Sakura sputtered, earning a short laugh from Hermione.

They'd just walked right through the pillar.

"W-what? What on earth gave you _that_ idea?"

Ginny shrugged nonchalantly.

"I don't know. I've only known you guys for, like, five minutes, but I can tell that you two are polar opposites; you're a talker, he's not, etcetera. And you know what they say," Ginny said, grinning slyly at both Hermione and Sakura, who exchanged puzzled looks over her red head.

"What?" Hermione urged.

"Opposites attract."

-

-

Harry stared, long and hard at Sasuke. Both he and Sakura were definitely anything but ordinary; they had been indifferent when Mrs Weasley introduced him. Not that he minded, but any ordinary wizard would've at least acknowledged that he was the only one who escaped Voldemort's killing curse. It was also something with the way they brought themselves. Harry couldn't pin point what, exactly, but they were undeniably different, alright.

Even now, with forearms resting on the cart handle, back slouched and looking almost lazy, any normal person would've gave off an air of someone bored or tired, but instead, Sasuke radiated power and authority, with a slight tinge of… darkness? Furthermore, the Uchiha looked extremely familiar, but he couldn't place it. The dark hair, the pale complexion, the stoic expression…

"So are you and Sakura going out?" Ron asked hopefully, snapping Harry out of his thoughts.

Sasuke had to bear in mind that his clients were normal teenage wizards who probably hadn't seen death straight in the face almost every day of their lives. Except, maybe, the Potter boy.

"No," Sasuke replied curtly. Out of his peripheral vision, he had noticed Harry observing him for quite some time, even though the boy himself didn't know.

"Excellent," Ron muttered softly to himself, grinning contently. Sasuke frowned at him.

"What's that thing on your back, anyway?" Ron asked, completely obliviously to the tiny glare Sasuke was giving him. The Uchiha remained cool as they walked right through the pillar, Sakura and the other girls slightly ahead of them.

"You don't want to know," Sasuke replied cryptically.

"Huh? Why not?" Ron was truly curious. "C'mon, I won't tell anybody!"

Sasuke simply walked ahead of them to catch up with his female companion, a single hand raised to dismiss the topic.

-

-

"Sakura," he said, nodding at the other two in greeting, and Hermione and Ginny blushed. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead and board the train first, you two." Sakura grinned.

When they shifted out of earshot from the others, Sasuke lowered his head slightly to mutter something to Sakura. Then she nodded, smiling softly at the prodigy, and then boarded the train together.

"They are _so_ meant for each other," Ginny declared as she looked thoughtfully through the window of the Hogwarts Express at the ninjas as they interacted. Hermione nodded in agreement.

"So what did he say?" Ginny asked the moment the medic got back to them. Sasuke had grudgingly gone back to Harry and Ron.

"H-huh? Oh… uh…" Sakura nearly sweat-dropped at the expectant and hopeful look on Ginny. "Nothing of importance, really."

"Aww…" Ginny whined dejectedly, actually pouting slightly. "Oh well, I have to go sit with my friends. See you around, Hermione, Sakura!"

And with that she was off. Then the train whistle blared, signifying that the train was about to depart.

"C'mon. The boys are ahead. We'll share the compartment with them."

-

-

"_Harry knows something. Be on guard at all times, Sakura."_

"_Okay, Sasuke."_

-

"_And… be careful, okay?"_

_-

* * *

_**Author's Note:** Ginny and Hermione seem a bit OOC. And the entire chapter was not editted, at all. So, sorry for any mistakes. I'll edit it when I come back. Review if you wanna. :)


	7. Hogwarts Express:Sorting the Ninja

**Author's Note:** Sorry that this update had to be, like, 3 months late.

I tried to lengthen it as much as I could to make up for the lateness.

A lot of redundant scenes.

Enjoy.

* * *

-

_Chapter 7_

-

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_Hogwarts Express : Sorting the Ninja_

-

-

It didn't take long for words to spread among the students aboard the Hogwarts Express about a dashingly handsome Fourth year boy with eyes like murder and smirk like heartbreak, and his pink-haired female companion who smiled at everyone and was allegedly part Veela.

Of course, it took even shorter for a 'WE 3 SASUKE' fan club to be established. Sakura didn't have a fan club because, well, boys didn't do that kind of stuff. Mostly.

"Aww… Neko-chan likes you!" Sakura cooed, stroking the soft fur of her Persian kitten, who purred and leaned against the comfort that was the medic's hand.

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched, eying the kitten on his lap warily. He carried the kitten by its scruff and, non-too-gently, placed it back on Sakura's lap. His attempt at distancing himself from the feline proved futile as it merely leapt its way back to his unbelievably comfortable lap, settling itself there.

The Uchiha grunted and slumped against the hard train seat dejectedly. Sakura giggled. Then she paused and turned to frown thoughtfully at the compartment door.

"What is it, Sakura?" Sasuke asked, onyx eyes trained on the girl.

"Harry and the rest have been gone for about ten minutes. Shouldn't we go and find them?" the pink-haired ninja questioned worriedly. The prodigy shrugged noncommittally. He didn't really give a hoot what happened to them, honestly. Sakura rolled her eyes, but remained seated across Sasuke in their compartment.

Harry, Ron and Hermione had politely excused themselves from the ninjas the moment they got a compartment, saying they wanted to talk about something private. The wizards had left their belongings in their shared compartment with the shinobi.

Sasuke took something out of his blazer pocket. It was a scroll.

"What's that, Sasuke?" Sakura asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at the item.

"Scroll from Kakashi. Didn't have the time to read it," he answered curtly. See, that's the thing with Uchiha Sasuke. He's so much of a jerk that he can't even answer people in full sentences.

Sakura shifted to sit next to Sasuke as he swiftly unfurled the scroll. The pair leaned forward slightly to read Kakashi's familiar scrawl.

_Sasuke, Sakura,_

_Having fun?_

Sasuke and Sakura could almost imagine their ex-sensei chuckling in that perverted way of his when he wrote that.

_Now, now. Don't do anything rash, Sasuke._

Said boy's fingers twitched.

_Anyway, back to serious matters. _

_Tsunade-sama mentioned something about promoting you guys to Jounin rank the moment you accomplish the mission objective. I don't know. She was kind of drunk when she said it, so I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you. _

_Also, do NOT reveal that you're a ninja, or the whereabouts of the ninja villages to anyone. The only one who knows your true identities is the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore._

_Do NOT leave anything lying around, shuriken, kunai, etc cetera, that might reveal the fact that you guys are ninjas. And some moron might pick it up and stab themselves in the eye by accident or something. This scroll, too. Fry it right after you're done reading this thing, Sasuke._

_Do NOT leave Potter alone for more than fifteen minutes, or longer than necessary. At least one of you must be stationed near him at all times or know of his whereabouts._

_Send fortnightly mission reports by Sasuke's owl. In a case where you fail to send reports within the fourteen-day interval, I will assume that there's trouble on the other side and send over reinforcements immediately. _

_If you wish to speak to me in person, or if the circumstance calls for me to be there urgently, contact Dumbledore and I'll be there as fast as I can._

_Gather as much information regarding this Voldy-whozzit guy and his alliances. It would probably be vital for yours and Potter's survival._

_I think that's all the precautions and jazz I'm supposed to notify you about._

_By the way, Neji says, "Sakura, don't go around hitting anyone or anything with chakra-enhanced limbs anytime soon unless you want to completely shatter their structures, molecule by molecule. Practice medical techniques on yourself before on others. The slightest chakra imbalance might cause your jutsu to end up disastrously." _

_And to Sasuke, "Careful of your Sharingan, it might explode. Don't electrocute anyone. Sakura might be able to control your fire with her extremely enhanced genjutsu ability if fate were to have it that you catch yourself on fire, Uchiha."_

_Also, Sai sends his regards. Naruto says hi and that he misses you guys. Hmm. How sweet. And he said he'll send letters over to tell you about whatever's happening in Konoha._

_I guess that's all for now._

_Remember: ninjas always trust their instincts._

_Ja,_

_Kakashi._

_P.S: Don't forget what I told you two this morning. I wasn't kidding when I said things can happen. ___

"I'll, uh, just keep this until we reach a safer place to test out your firepower," Sakura said, plucking the scroll from Sasuke's pale hands warily. She swiftly rolled it up.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted. He proceeded to cross his arms over his chest and close his eyes, face void of any emotion. Then the compartment door slid open.

There was an abrupt silence as the ninjas stared up at the three embarrassed wizards.

"Er… Are we interrupting something?" Ron asked sheepishly. Hermione smacked him on the arm and gave him a reproaching look. Sasuke and Sakura raised their eyebrows at them.

"No?" Sakura answered in a quizzical tone. Honestly, what was so couple-ish about what she and Sasuke were doing then?

"Okay…"

"Anyway, which house do you think you're going to be sorted into, Sakura, Sasuke?" Ron asked the moment they sat down. His freckled face was lit up in excitement and curiosity.

"Excuse me?" Sakura gave Sasuke a questioning look. _Did you know anything about this?_

The Uchiha shrugged back.

"You don't know? Students of Hogwarts are sorted into any of the four houses; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw," Hermione said matter-of-factly, being the typical know-it-all. "Different houses have different qualities required in a student."

"Qualities?" This time, surprisingly, Sasuke spoke, looking fixedly at the bushy-haired girl with his intense eyes. Said girl blushed and flustered before quickly composing herself. Ron gave her a strange look across Harry.

"Well, yes. Gryffindors are sorted for their bravery, Ravenclaw for wit, Hufflepuff for diligence, and Slytherin, the least-liked house among the four, for the power-hungry."

"_The power-hungry, huh?_" Sakura thought, smiling wryly at her lap, refusing to meet Sasuke's eye.

"What house are you three in, then?" Again, Sasuke surprised them with his amazingly deep and velvety voice. Getting chatty, isn't he?

"Gryffindor, of course!" Ron exclaimed, puffing out his chest in pride. Harry snickered at his redheaded friend, earning a mock glare from Ron.

"Bravery and intellect, huh?" the Sharingan wielder drawled. He closed his eyes and slumped back onto the seat with a soft 'hn', as though he didn't want anything to do with the conversation anymore.

"So which house?" Harry asked, eyebrows raised in question. Hermione was too dazed to talk.

"Most probably Hufflepuff. I'm not exactly the sharpest or toughest of the lot," the medic said, giving a similar cynical smile at them. Her voice was neutral, and yet Sasuke could practically hear her screaming her agony for never being strong enough, never smart enough, never brave enough, to surpass her team mates.

That was why, even when his mouth nearly twitched to tell her that, no, she wasn't weak, that she was smart and strong, he flat-out refused to open his mouth or eyes to see the expression on her porcelain face which was bound to break him.

He couldn't tell her such things. No, not yet. She still had a long way to go.

Let her be hurt. Let her feel never good enough. Let her train till she reaches her limits and beyond.

_Then soothe the pain with a compliment._

It was one of the few ways Sasuke could help in making her stronger.

-

-

The rain became heavier and heavier as the train moved further north. The sky was so dark and the windows so steamy that the lanterns were lit by midday. The lunch trolley came rattling along the corridor, and Harry bought a large stack of Cauldron Cakes for him, Ron, Hermione and the two transfer students to share.

Sasuke and Sakura stared at the latter's slice in her hand doubtfully.

"Go on. Ea' 'em," Ron said through a mouthful of the cake. Hermione glared at him for not having any manners.

"It's not poisoned," Harry said with a grin after swallowing. Sakura shrugged and took a bite. The remaining occupants of the compartment stared at her expectantly.

"It's fine. Try it, Sasuke!" The pink-haired girl, playfully, attempted to feed Sasuke. It was a notion which the wizards thought was amusing, yet foolish, by the looks of his personality ever since they'd known his name at the platform. One would expect another such as Uchiha Sasuke to swat Haruno Sakura's hand away.

Needless to say, many people were shocked when the dark boy took a bite and leaned back onto his seat with a rather thoughtful look on his usually impassive face as he chewed. He spared a fleeting glance at his gaping, pink-haired companion before closing his eyes, and said, "Hn. Too sweet."

Silence followed. The Uchiha boy seemed unperturbed by the awkwardness that hung in the air like canvas.

Harry decided that Sasuke didn't normally act this way, from the expression on Sakura's face. And the look on Ron's face was _priceless_. He could practically hear his red-haired friend whining, _"He got fed by Sakura! S-a-k-u-r-a!"_

The awkwardness and tension was instantly broken when the compartment was roughly slid open, only to intensify when the wizards saw who was behind it.

It was Draco Malfoy, a platinum haired boy with an arrogant smirk almost always on his face, and his two dumb-as-heck goons standing as menacingly and, unintentionally, stupid, as they could.

"Hello, Potter, Weasel, Mudblood," Malfoy greeted them respectively. Ron's fists clenched in an effort to stop himself from decking the blonde irritant.

Sakura and Sasuke had no idea what a Mudblod was, but they were sure it was an insult, from the look on Ron's face. The both of them turned to regard the rude boy with a stony expression.

"Don't remember telling you to join us, Malfoy," Harry said coolly. Malfoy pretended not to hear.

"Ah, the transfer students from Japan my father told me about," he continued. "I'm Draco Malfoy of Slytherin, and it would be my pleasure to have you in my company instead of with these Gryffindor losers," he said with a cocky bow. "I assure you that we, Pure-bloods, are much better company than pathetic Half-bloods and Mudbloods."

"And I," Sasuke said in his baritone voice, which sounded intimidating even though he wasn't even trying to be. "Assure you that if you don't get the hell lost and stop polluting my breathing space," there was no pause as he thought of something which didn't seem so violent. He settled on ending with an ominous, "A lot of things will happen."

Draco had some decency to look frightened. Then he turned to Sakura with a smile meant to charm.

Harry concluded that Draco Malfoy was the biggest idiot on the planet.

Just as he was about to say something, he was silenced with the withering look from Sasuke.

Harry took this as his cue to get Malfoy out of their sight, since Sasuke didn't look like he wasn't going to do anything but glare.

"Don't bother trying, Malfoy," Harry said with a smirk, got up, and slid the compartment door shut with a loud bang.

-

-

The Hogwarts Express was already slowing down, and everyone had changed into their respective uniforms. Presently, Sasuke, with his Kusanagi strapped to his back again, was getting both Sakura's and his belongings from the luggage compartment while she held his black robes. He had refused to wear them even though it was raining cats and dogs outside.

"Seriously Sasuke, put this on. You're going to get sick on your first day of school," Sakura said, concerned for his well-being. With hands still on the overhead luggage compartment, Sasuke's eyes flicked to her face for a moment, before resuming his attempt to get their damn brooms – the ones Sakura wanted so bloody badly – down.

"Hn. You worry too much, Sakura." He finally got the brooms down with a soft grunt.

The compartment door slid open to reveal Harry, his face flushed from the cold.

"Hey, guys. Uh…" his gaze drifted uncertainly over their belongings, which the Uchiha had taken the liberty to bring down.

"You don't need to bring your trunks along. Just your pets. They'll transport your belongings into your dormitories," Harry said. He looked amused and sorry for them at the same time.

Without a word, Sasuke took his robe from Sakura's arm and tossed it over his owl's cage to protect it from the rain.

"Come on, we have to hurry," Harry called from the corridor.

Stopping at the doorway, Sasuke looked back at Sakura with a smirk. The Haruno stood there with her arms around Neko.

Then, with a tiny tilt of his handsome head, Sasuke said, "Let's go."

-

-

The ride in the carriage with the horribly starved and intimidating horses had been bumpy, painful and wet, what with the cold rain pelting on them like ice needles.

The pair of ninjas shared a carriage with Harry, Ron and Hermione. They looked at Sakura funny when she asked about the horses. Apparently the wizards couldn't see them.

Through the gates, flanked with statues of winged boars, and up the sweeping drive the carriage trundled, swaying dangerously in what was fast becoming a gale.

Leaning against the windows, the shinobi could see the castle coming nearer, its many lighted windows blurred and shimmering behind the thick curtain of rain. Lighting flashed across the sky as their carriage came to a halt before the great oak doors, which stood at the top of a flight of stone steps.

"Oh, _wow_," Sakura breathed in awe at the beautiful castle.

She exchanged looks with Sasuke as he was helping her down the carriage (although he knew that his team mate had absolutely no problems jumping down two feet).

Promptly, they followed the wizards up the stone steps, and beyond the doors of Hogwarts.

-

-

"First-years, here!" called out an old but stern-looking lady in black robes. Her grey hair was pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head. She gathered the first-years in front of her. When she caught sight of the two shivering shinobi, she said, "You two! Come here, quick! It's time to get you sorted!"

"That was one heck of a downpour," Sakura muttered, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to warm herself up as they slipped and slid across the Great Hall. Sasuke grunted in agreement.

"Hurry up, please, those at the back!"

-

-

The Great Hall, as they call it, looked absolutely splendid, decorated for some weird reason. Golden plates and goblets gleamed by the light of hundreds and hundreds of candles, floating over the tables in mid-air. The ceiling showed the weather outside; dark and stormy. There were only four long tables, which were packed with chattering students. At the top of the Great Hall, the staff sat along one side of a fifth table, facing the students. It was much warmer in here.

The Haruno and Uchiha and the first-years followed the older woman in a line behind her towards the front of the Hall. The first-years were shivering with a combination of cold and nerves as they filed along the staff table and came to a halt in a line facing the rest of the school.

The woman now placed a three-legged stool on the ground before the first-years and the shinobi and, on top of it, an extremely old, dirty, patched wizard's hat. The first-years stared at it. The ninjas stared at it. So did everyone else. For a moment, there was silence. Then a tear near the brim opening wide like a mouth, and the hat broke into a song:

_A thousand years or more ago,_

(Sasuke: Ah… great. Singing hats. Just what we need.

Sakura: That hat did _not_ just sing.)

_When I was newly sewn,_

_There lived four wizards of renown,_

_Whose names are still well known:_

_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor,_

_Fair Ravenclaw, from glen,_

_Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad,_

_Shrewd Slytherin, from fen._

_They shared a wish, a hope, a drem,_

_They hatched a daring plan_

_To educate young sorcerers_

_Thus Hogwarts School began._

_Now each of these four founders_

_Formed their house, for each_

_Did value different virtues_

_In the ones they had to teach._

_By Gryffindor, the bravest were_

_Prized far beyond the rest._

_For Ravenclaw, the cleverest_

_Would always be the best._

_For Hufflepuff, hard workers were_

_Most worthy of admission._

_And power-hungry Slytherin_

_Loved those of great ambition._

_While still alive they did divide_

_Their favourites from the throng,_

_Yet how to pick the worthy ones_

_When they were dead and gone?_

'_Twas Gryffindor who found the way,_

_He whipped me off his head_

_The founders put some brains in me_

_So I could choose instead!_

_Now slip me snug about your ears,_

_I've never yet been wrong,_

_I'll have a look inside your mind_

_And tell where you belong!_

The Great Hall rang with applause as the hat finished singing. The woman who led them here was now unrolling a large scroll of parchment.

"When I call your name, you will put on the Hat and sit on the stool," she said loudly, making sure that her voice reached the shinobi. "When the Hat announces your house, you will go and sit at the appropriate table."

"Ackerly, Stewart!"

A boy walked forward, visibly trembling from head to foot, picked up the Sorting Hat, put in on and sat down on the stool.

"Ravenclaw!" shouted the Hat. The table full of students wearing black and blue robes applauded as the boy took off the hat and put it on the stool.

"Baddock, Malcolm!"

"Slytherin!"

The table with students wearing green and black robes erupted with cheers; Sasuke could see that blonde boy from the train, clapping as Baddock joined the Slytherins. Sasuke narrowed his eyes minutely.

The Weasley twins hissed Malcolm Baddock as he sat down.

"Branstone, Eleanor!"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Cauldwell, Owen!"

"Creevey, Dennis!"

A tiny boy staggered forward, tripping himself over the large cloth which hung around him, just as a man, a giant one, sidled into the Hall through the door behind the teachers' table. Sakura took half a step back in alarm. About twice the height of a normal man, and at least three times as broad, he looked rather menacing. He winked at someone from the table with students wearing scarlet and black robes as he sat down at the end of the staff table.

The rip at the brim on the hat opened wide –

"Gryffindor!" the Hat shouted. The Gryffindor table erupted with cheers as the small boy scurried towards the table.

The Sorting continued; boys and girls with varying degrees of fright on their faces moving, one by one, to the three-legged stool, the line dwindling slowly as the lady passed the 'L's.

"So… you're going to carry that thing around your back everywhere you go?" Sakura asked Sasuke in an attempt to make small talk with the anti-social boy. Bored, she was.

The Uchiha shrugged. Sakura heard a few nostalgic fan-girl squeals and giggles, all directed towards her male companion. It reminded her of how she and Ino always used to squeal over their dear 'Sasuke-kun'.

But she couldn't blame them, with Sasuke looking pretty damn cool and badass with his hands in his pockets and his sword on his back. Being the stubborn idiot he was, he didn't wear the customary black robes. Rather, he simply wore the white button-down shirt, untucked, with the sleeves folded up to the elbows, revealing the hard muscles on his forearms. Sakura thought that this emphasized his lean figure, and the black pants and sneakers looked perfect on him, like everything else does.

His dark hair didn't have a parting anymore. Instead, it covered his forehead and framed his pale, angular face.

Her train of thought was broken when the Headmaster's voice boomed throughout the Great Hall.

"All of you must be wondering who these two foreign students are."

The effect was instantaneous. Almost everyone started whispering excitedly to their friends, pointing at the shinobi.

It was safe to say that Sasuke and Sakura owned the girls and boys, respectively.

As the buzzing and chatter grew louder, almost deafening, Dumbledore raised a hand calmly, and the entire Hall fell silent again.

"These students," he began, indicating to the two ninjas in front of him. "Are from Japan. They are here for a student exchange program I am working on in an attempt to strengthen our international ties with other countries from other regions. So I do hope you will help to get them accustomed to the castle and lessons, and also ensure that that they will have a comfortable and enriching stay here. For now, let's get them sorted," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling as he beamed at the shinobi, a knowing look on his face.

The stern-looking lady unrolled a piece of parchment, and cleared her throat.

"Haruno, Sakura," she said, loudly and clearly. Her heart rate increased rapidly as she walked away from Sasuke's side, and onto the podium. Her team mate watched her with an unreadable expression.

She walked towards the three-legged stool and picking up the dirty Hat. Hundreds and hundreds pairs of eyes followed her every movement as she sat down on the stool and lowered the Hat onto her pink-haired head.

The moment the Hat touched her head, a deep voice sounded.

'_Hmm. Smart one we have here. Ninja, huh?'_

'_Who the - ?!'_ Inner Sakura began.

'_I'm the Hat, and I shall be looking into your memories to see which house your qualities are suitable for.'_

'_Oh…'_

'_Smart, stubborn, aggressive, and brave. Quite a catch, aren't you, female ninja?'_

Inner and outer Sakura had nothing to say to that.

'_A tough decision, you are. Hmm… Definitely not Slytherin. Not power-driven enough and too kind. And not Hufflepuff. You have traits better suited for the house it deserves. You have both smarts and guts. Though…'_

The Hat paused.

'_Your bravery exceeds your intelligence.'_

'_Sorry…?'_ Sakura asked, baffled.

'_Therefore – '_

"Gryffindor!!" the Hat's voice boomed throughout the entire Great Hall. Deafening cheers erupted from the Gryffindor table, a number boys standing up and pumping their fists into the air while cheering. The staff members were clapping politely and one particularly large, heavily bearded man, beamed at her. Sakura quickly took off the hat, placed it on the stool, and nearly tripped on her way to her house table.

She cast a sheepish look at Sasuke, who in return quirked his eyebrows.

_Bravery, huh? Not bad, Sakura._

"Uchiha, Sasuke!" the stern witch called.

Raven bangs swayed as he ambled his way up the steps. A good number of squealing was heard. Calm and composed, he settled on the three-legged stool with his arms crossed firmly over his chest.

'_Ah… another ninja. A friend of the girl, hmm?'_

Sasuke didn't say anything as he waited for the Hat's judgement.

'_Man of a few words, I see?'_

Fittingly, Sasuke remained silent.

'_You're driven by your immense desire for power. Ice cold demeanor, and yet you have a noble heart and care for those close to it. You're brave, that much I can tell. However, at the same time, you're a coward.'_

'_What?'_ Sasuke snapped.

'_You ran to someone who's weaker than the one you wish to defeat. You threw away whatever you had, all the things that could've made you stronger than you are now, to do something so utterly foolish. Not only that, but you had unknowingly ran away with a young maiden's heart, one that you've repeatedly and mercilessly crushed and broken.'_

'_I did what I had to do.'_ The Uchiha's voice was strained and forced.

'_Tell me, dear boy, how did you live those months away from home with all that remorse and guilt in you?'_

'_I didn't feel a thing,'_ Sasuke hissed through gritted teeth. His fists were clenched tightly, the skin stretched over his knuckles so tautly that it turned white.

'_I can hardly believe that.'_

"Slytherin!!"

-

-

"No way! Sasuke's Slytherin material?!"

The thunderous cheering and clapping from the Slytherin table nearly drowned Ron's furious outburst.

Girls who weren't from Slytherin turned to stare at him wistfully. Boys who weren't from Slytherin turned and glowered at him. Malfoy looked horrified when Sasuke chose to sit in the empty spot across him.

But Sakura wasn't paying attention to those things.

She, however, gave extra attention to his tensed posture and the way his bangs shielded his downcast eyes from everyone.

To an outsider, it would have seemed that Sasuke was merely being his typical anti-social and aloof self, not regarding anyone whom he deemed below his standards.

But Sakura was no outsider.

She knew that underneath that façade, he was having an inner battle with his conscience.

She knew that underneath that thick fringe of hair, Sasuke Uchiha's onyx eyes were bleeding crimson.

-

-

"_It is vital that Uchiha does not overuse or lose control of his Sharingan."_

"_What if he does? What'll happen to teme?"_

-

"_Then there's a possibility that he'll go blind."_

* * *

**Author's Note:**My writing deteriorated, yeah I get it I get it. Damn English teacher ain't worth shit.

Tell me if Sasuke's in-character enough, or if Sakura's too... Mary-sue-ish. Anything I need to improve on, or if the chapter's too long and boring and draggy... Hit me.

Note that I am NOT abandoning this fic. I will complete it. Someday.


End file.
